This is a Sample from the ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) of Blood and Pixies. My manuscript is currently with my editor. Please assume that and typos or small grammar errors will be fixed before the release date.
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Blood and Pixies
by
Cassie Evans
Chapter 1
"SHUT YOUR MOUTH, PIPER!" Kira flicked a pencil across the table, bouncing it off Piper's cheek.
Pinching the bridge of her nose, Jackie exhaled a sigh. "Girls, I clock out in five minutes. Keep it together!"
Slowly, Piper set down the chalk-coated eraser she'd been about to slap her sister with. Both girls scowled furiously.
"Better. Kira, read the pages. Piper, finish that essay."
Homeschooling hadn't been Jackie's plan at the beginning. As a new mom, she'd watched her babies in awe-filled wonder as they grew from infant to toddler. At the same time, she and her husband had watched the steady stream of school shootings pass through the news circuit. When the day came to herd her little twin five-year-olds onto a bus, her anxiety had screamed. It had clawed at the inside of her skull.
She'd ordered a kindergarten curriculum that same day.
Kira reopened her book with a growl. "I will never need to know about the Spanish American War."
"You'll never win trivia night with that attitude!" Jackie quipped back in a sing-song tune.
A low trill hummed in her ear, and Jackie pulled her mind back on task. Adjusting her headset, she chirped out a cheerful hello and had the same basic conversation she had all day, every day. When not playing referee to a set of nine-year-olds, she worked as a remote telephone receptionist for several companies around the state.
Piper's pencil scratched noisily against her paper. Occasionally, she let out a dramatic huff. Academics were something to be endured for that girl.
How had they become nine so fast? It didn't make any sense. One minute Jackie was barely out of her teens saying I Do and the next she was thirty-two. In the meantime, she'd accumulated three remote jobs, two safe children, and one very messy house.
A small ping on her smart watch elicited a relieved sigh from Jackie's lips. With a few deft keystrokes, she logged out of her work tabs. Stepping off her walking pad, she peeled off her headset—plugging it in to charge for the night.
Piper dropped her pencil. "Mom, can I be done too? Please? Please, please, please?"
Kira rolled her eyes and turned the page.
"Fine, but you're finishing that first thing in the morning." Jackie strutted into the kitchen, stretching her arms over her head. "Come on, let's do Home Ec."
Piper dashed past her, digging an apron out of the towel drawer. "What are we cooking?"
For the next ten minutes, Jackie cubed vegetables while Piper browned chicken and mixed dumpling dough. Kira wandered in once her reading was done, slipped her tie-dye apron over her head, and began on the sauce.
Without a word, Jackie started some music. Cheerful rhythms danced through the air while mother and daughters danced through their cooking.
After another ten minutes, there was a casserole lovingly filled with chicken and dumplings being slid into the oven by Piper, while Jackie finished the last of the dishes.
By the time Alec's work van backed into the driveway, the house smelled divine, and all three girls were happily enjoying their free time. Kira flipped through her library books, Piper doodled on a tablet, and Jackie doom scrolled.
The door swung open, letting in a gust of cool autumn air. As usual, Alec was covered in a fine layer of sawdust with larger wood chips stuck to his short black hair and bootlaces. Carpentry agreed with him; so much so that even though he was bone tired, a smile sat on his lips.
"Hey Dad, check this out!" Piper said, hopping to her feet. Taking the tablet, Alec admired her sketch, pointing out his favorite elements as he took them in. With each remark, her blue eyes sparkled, and she stood a little straighter.
Before he'd finished speaking, Kira was at his elbow. "We went to the library today, and I found this book about folktales! It's full of all these stories I've never heard of before." She dropped the book on the tablet; Piper scoffed in annoyance.
"Girls, at least give him time to take off his boots!"
And so, the evening rolled along. Over dinner they each talked about their day, sisters oscillating between camaraderie and barbed comebacks, parents trying to listen to everyone at once.
Jackie was tired. It wasn't just the fact that she walked at her desk all day, or that she was referee, teacher, mother, and homemaker all at once. It was the fact that she never got to be, well, Jackie. Whoever that was had faded away years ago and been replaced with job titles instead. And worst of all, she hadn't even noticed.
Just after dawn the next morning, she rubbed her eyes and sat up in bed. Jackie could feel the frizzy tickle of her chestnut hair around her neck. It had been another night of tossing and turning. With a slight shuffle, she moved through her morning routine.
Eventually, the girls emerged from their room, yawning and disheveled. Jackie was already logging into her various work accounts while two bowls of blueberry oatmeal steamed on the table. Her hair was up in its usual ponytail, her face was clean, and she wore black joggers and a slouchy tee.
"Go time," she muttered to herself.
With a toe, she turned the walking pad on, setting it to a comfortable amble.
Hardly thinking, she answered phone calls and bounced between companies, scheduling appointments and answering questions. Piper and Kira ate while mumbling through cheerful but sleepy conversation. Alec was already long gone.
By midday the girls had finished their schoolwork and were combing through the backyard for entertainment. The two acres were split down the middle by a dry creek bed that would soon swell with about a foot of water. Sparse trees dotted the mostly flat land just enough for the girls to call it their "woods".
Jackie stood over the kitchen sink, washing grapes and listening to an audiobook. It was a thrilling adventure with betrayal and mystery. Out the window, she saw Kira sitting on a rock by the creek bed, open book in hand, chatting away, while Piper used a stick to etch a design into the sandy dirt. She couldn't help but smile. These were the childhood memories she hoped they held onto as they grew.
With a small sigh, she plopped the grapes onto two plates next to turkey sandwiches. On the back porch, there was a kids table where she set the plates down before reaching up and ringing the shrill steel bell that hung from the eaves.
Hearing the lunch bell, Piper and Kira abandoned their game and sprinted through the trees, kicking up dust.
Piper was shorter than Kira by an inch or two and had dark brown hair, verging on black, flying wild behind her as she ran. Her brow was slightly lowered, and the corner of her mouth was pinched as she raced closer, muscled legs pushing to their limits.
Kira was several shades paler than her sister due to extended time spent reading in the shade. Her fair hair was cropped to a tidy bob and was the color of amber honey in the sun. Her willowy frame leapt over downed limbs and skipped from stone to stone, a small pile of books clutched to her chest.
"I win," Piper declared, slapping her hand on the table.
"Hmm?" Kira hummed. "Oh, great job, Pip!"
Jackie wandered back into the house, eating her lunch while folding laundry. Her chapter ended so she slipped her ear buds out and enjoyed the muted babble of the girls' conversation.
"We will never get the king's attention with dirt sketches," Piper said seriously.
Kira flipped through the pages of her book. "Maybe we can try a rock statue?"
They were up to their usual antics it would seem.
Thoughts of planning a vacation that probably wouldn't happen floated through Jackie's mind. Making plans helped her feel settled. One day she'd be able to walk onto a plane and go somewhere she'd never been, hear languages that had never touched her ears, and remind herself that she was allowed adventures, too.
One day.
Chapter 2
By the time Alec walked through the door, Jackie's eyes burned from exhaustion. Plastic bags littered the dining table. It was a takeout night. A cold—half-soggy—cheeseburger from a local brewery sat inside a brown box, nestled among slightly droopy fries, that had long lost their crispness.
"We ate already, but there's one left," Kira said.
Alec dropped into the chair, dirt and dust drifting to the floor around him. He'd had to work late again. "Looks delicious."
Somehow, he truly meant it. Nearly a third of the burger disappeared in one bite, quickly followed by eight fries at once.
Piper wobbled by the wall, upside down in a headstand. Her face flushing from pink to red as she continued to hold the pose. "Oh, Kira, we forgot the bait!"
She crumpled forward to the ground and bounced up to her feet.
Kira shot into the kitchen and grabbed a mandarin orange from the fridge. "Food from the sun," she muttered.
"Food from the Earth," Piper answered, snatching a fry from her dad's box.
Both girls scurried out the door.
"What are they on about?" Alec asked, amusement sparkling his hazel eyes.
Jackie chuckled. "From what I can piece together, it's a Pixie trap."
There was nothing quite like the magical imagination of children.
That evening, after the kids were in bed, Jackie snuggled into Alec's arms on the couch. He kissed her gently on the temple, relishing her warm presence. They stayed up watching a baking show until Jackie began snoring softly. Still, it was her favorite part of the entire day.
The girls raced through their lessons the next morning without a single squabble, dashing out the door the moment Jackie approved their last worksheets.
It took thirty minutes for Jackie to realize the girls hadn't come to eat when she rang the bell. Their plates sat untouched. Jackie hollered out the back door.
Begrudgingly, Kira and Piper plodded to their table, whispering furiously. Their hands were even more filthy than usual. Piper began eating while Kira sat… Whittling? She held a black piece of wood and carefully pulled a knife along its length, curling off ebony shavings.
That's where the missing paring knife had gone. And which tree out there was black?
Jackie's brows pulled together. "What are you girls up to out there?"
Both girls glanced at each other. "Just making a fort," Piper stated, expression unnaturally still.
"Hmm. Is anything broken?"
"Nope." Kira smiled, popping a cold chicken nugget in her mouth.
On her wrist, Jackie's watch began chiming—lunch was over.
"Tomorrow I'll come check it out," she said, sliding her headset back into place.
* * *
The next morning, Jackie woke up from the cold instead of her alarm. Dragging a robe out of her drawer, she grumbled through the house, searching for the source of the breeze.
She sighed wearily. "Why do they never shut the back door?" she asked the darkness.
Sliding the door shut, she began making some coffee. At least she'd get a little time to herself this morning.
Before long she was flipping pancakes and making eggs. She may as well with the extra time, right? Glancing out the window, she watched the trees bend and sway in the wind.
Weird. It was supposed to be clear today.
With a shrug, she sprinkled blueberries onto the stack of pancakes on her plate and turned on an audiobook.
Full of breakfast and coffee, she logged into her accounts; the girls were a little late getting up this morning.
Time ticked on. Jackie walked at her desk. Irritation grew into concern after an hour. Were they sick? She really shouldn't leave her desk; the queue of callers was long this morning. They were probably just coming down with a cold.
Their breakfast sat abandoned on the table.
She worked through the calls in a rush, watching another hour pass. It was ten. This was unheard of, especially for Piper. A hot knot began to clench Jackie's stomach.
With a few keystrokes, the calls were paused. Headset still on, walking pad still running, she strode down the hall to the twins' room. Anxiety slithered up her spine.
Hand on the knob, the thought that they may be sick re-emerged. As gently as possible, she inched the door open. Their blankets were in heaped messes, as usual. But they looked hollow, deflated.
Cold, freezing dread seized every nerve in her body, clutching her heart in an icy web and squeezing.
Panic.
Every worst case scenario flooded her mind.
Desperately, Jackie lurched for their beds and ripped the blankets off. They were truly empty.
"PIPER! Kira!" Jackie screeched, sprinting from the room.
Sweat trickled all throughout her hair, down her back, between her fingers.
Every door was flung wide.
Bathroom.
Storage closet.
Garage.
Jackie's own bedroom.
All empty.
"GIRLS! ANSWER ME!"
Jackie spun in circles in the living room, phone in hand.
The backyard. Maybe they slipped out.
Barefoot, slipping on the dew-slick grass, Jackie dashed into the trees.
The girls were nowhere in sight.
A rough sob ripped from Jackie's chest. Tears streamed down her pale cheeks.
"Kira!"she shrieked. "PIPER!"
She gazed at the fence line in every direction. The only movement was the trees whipping in the wind and the leaves whirling along the ground.
Then she saw Kira's library book. It was propped against the rock where they usually played. After a few steps, she saw that same piece of jet-black wood that almost resembled a knife.
Was that blood?
Jackie was so focused on the book and bloody blade that she nearly kicked a pile of rocks.
Then she looked down.
A large circle had been carved deeply into the dirt around the knife, probably four feet across. At Jackie's feet was a carefully stacked pyramid of perfectly smooth river stones. On the opposite side was a stick that had broad maple leaves skewered from end to end. It looked like an eight-inch leaf kebab. To the left was placed an orange that was swarmed with ants and beginning to brown. On the right was a lone french fry.
All around the inside edge, the circle was trimmed with a woven twisting pattern, etched into the ground. In the very center, the ground was clear except for the knife, several drops of dark crimson blood, and two sets of scorched black footprints.
Chapter 3
Seconds slid by in a hazy blur. They were Piper and Kira's footprints, without a doubt. It looked like their feet had branded the ground. Black char left nothing but soot.
Jackie stared at the tiny toe prints, heartbeat thumping in her ears. Either the wind had stopped or she couldn't feel it anymore. The glossy blood drew her gaze and her lungs forgot how to draw in air.
She dropped to her knees, small rocks stabbing her through the thin fabric of her leggings. Her eyes lost focus as she struggled to draw a breath. Rasping gasps escaped her lips.
On the verge of losing consciousness, her breath caught, shifting to a body-wracking sob. Tears dropped from her chin. Her nose was snotty. Closer to the ground, she saw that the designs were charred as well, as if a fire had run through the small groove they'd drawn.
They'd drawn this.
Jackie's eyes snapped to the book, weathered pages fluttering invitingly. She crawled the few feet to the book, blew her nose on the hem of her lavender hoodie, and snatched it up.
Faeries and How to Find Them.
The cover was unassuming, a matte black with shimmering pearlescent lettering. The inside was anything but ordinary. Page after page of handwritten entries, detailed sketches, and instructions for various purposes.
The word spells floated through her mind, but Jackie couldn't bear to think it.
Crammed into the margins were countless notes in various handwritings.
This worked for me, Faeries blessed my garden. Don't do this one—it killed my hamster. Didn't work. I've lost my hearing. Eye color changed.
Page after page of well-worn, annotated pages.
Jackie froze. Kira's handwriting wiggled down the side of one margin.
Diagram worked, told we needed grounding points.
Told? Fear jolted through her veins.
Scanning the page, she saw a diagram of the circle in the dirt. A spell of communication.
Farther down she saw more of Kira's writing.
Path of the water, food from the sun, path of the wind, food from the Earth.
Underneath in sloppier writing.
Not strong enough. We need blood.
The book slipped from her hands. This can't be happening. And yet the girls were gone and a Faerie Circle was in the backyard. The headset beeped, tearing Jackie out of her thoughts.
Jackie ripped the headset off and lobbed it into the brush.
"Shut up, I can't think!" she screamed, hands clutching her head.
It didn't make sense. This wasn't possible. But perhaps it was.
Stepping into the circle, careful to avoid their small footprints and smattering of blood, Jackie picked up the wooden knife. It felt like ice in her hands. The edge was rough, crooked, and shining with her daughters' blood.
Jackie's eyes fluttered closed. She pressed her lips together, exhaling sharply through her nose. Some of the notes from the book drifted through her thoughts.
Lost my hearing. Killed my hamster.
Kira and Piper needed her.
Clenching her teeth, Jackie's eyes opened. Before she could change her mind, she slashed across her left palm.
Slashed was a generous word. The dull blade shredded a ragged line across her tender skin. She flinched, dropping the black wood.
Did my girls do this?
Crimson welled along the gash. The moment the first drop hit the soil, her blood boiled. Searing heat ran through every vein, large and small. With each drop, the burn increased. Then she felt a tugging through her feet. It was as though someone had reached inside of her, knotted their fingers around her arteries, and dragged her down.
Pain ripped up Jackie's throat, and she realized she was screaming. Under her feet, the earth began to crackle and smoke. Then heat bloomed over her skin as flames licked up from the grass all the way to her scalp.
The pull on her blood won, and she felt herself drop like an anvil in a glacial lake. She heard steam hiss and felt minuscule bubbles race up her cheeks as darkness surrounded her.
Slowly, the cold quenched the fire inside her, and Jackie began to shiver violently. Her feet hit something damp and spongy. Legs giving out, she crumpled to the ground.
Eyes closed, she lay on the ground, panting and trembling. A shrill whine filled her ears while her nose was overwhelmed by the scent of loamy soil and heavy forest musk.
It had worked. What was that spell for again? What had she just done?
The pain slowly receded enough for the pulsing ache in her palm to reemerge. Fear and dread kept Jackie curled on the ground. Then she remembered.
Kira and Piper.
Jackie snapped her eyes open. Under her was dense emerald moss with small white flowers interspersed. A few feet ahead was a shallow pool of burbling water. To her absolute shock, her skin and clothes appeared unharmed, although she smelled faintly of smoke.
Every muscle in her body ached. Gazing around the clearing, Jackie gaped at trees taller than she'd ever seen. The tops disappearing above the broad leafy canopy. The forest floor was shaded with occasional shafts of warm light dappling the upper branches.
"Hello?" she said, eyes darting for any signs of her girls. Her voice was swallowed up by the heavy foliage. When nothing bad happened, she tried again, a little louder. "Kira? Piper?"
The only sound was the trickle of water and an unfamiliar birdsong. In any other circumstance, it would be a dream haven. Serene and comforting.
Carefully, Jackie rose to her feet and paced the small clearing. The girls probably dropped in here too, right?
Drip, drip, drip.
Her blood was still flowing from the ugly cut. A sickening red stream ran down her middle finger and fell to the flowers below.
Jackie grimaced, clenching her hand into a fist. With a hiss, she popped her hand open again. That had only made it worse, the movement prying her ragged flesh farther apart.
Glancing towards the pool of water, she chewed the inside of her cheek. Names of bacteria and parasites flashed through her memory, followed by the possibility of unknown dangers.
She didn't have time to waste. Who knew how long ago the girls came through. Jackie marched to the pool and lowered to her knees.
"Oh, that's a terrible idea," a small voice whispered.
Jackie nearly fell into the pool. Scrabbling backwards, she asked, "Who said that?"
"I'm up here." A flash of light caught her eye. Reclining lazily in one of the lower branches was a squirrel-sized winged woman.
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